Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter shocked the political world Tuesday by jumping from the GOP to the Democratic Party – likely handing President Obama an EZ-Pass to drive his agenda on Capitol Hill.

The sudden move, coming as the veteran lawmaker already faces a fierce 2010 primary challenge from the right in the Keystone State, all but gives Democrats and Obama a roadblock-free Senate, putting them on the cusp of a 60-vote majority.

"I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans," Specter announced on his campaign Web site.

"I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary," Specter he added.

Well, I didn't see that coming. I'd like to thank the Club for Growth(SNRK) for this, and their backing of Toomey for the Republican Primary. Of course it's politically motivated, Specter doesn't want to lose his seat. Is he the best example of a Democrat? No, but he's not the worst example of a Republican either. He's always more or less cut close to the middle on many issues.

I'm interested in seeing where this will develop with the cloture votes, seeing as Arlen won't be, being pressured by the Republicans to vote with them (regardless of issue) just to try and maintain enough support to survive the primary.

4/26/2009

Bobby Joe Flores had gonorrhea. And at some point after he baby-sat for a 1-year-old girl, so did she.

But a state law prevented that information from being presented to a jury, so Flores pleaded guilty to a lesser-grade child molesting charge.

The result Monday was a prison sentence under which Flores could be free in less than a year.

Again, yes, you heard right. This... THING... raped a 1-year-old baby, gave her gonorrhea.... And because he had an STD, was able to get off with barely a slap on the wrist, because:

Indiana law prohibits the disclosure of information related to the identities of people who contract communicable diseases.

Such information can be disclosed only if the person signs a release; if the information does not identify the person with the disease; or if the release is necessary to enforce public health laws, according to state law.

Which prevented the prosecution from bringing the most incriminating evidence up in the trial.

You know, one would think that there would be another exemption in there for cases involving SEXUAL ASSAULT. But I guess that would mean working to protect the victims, as opposed to babying criminals.

And the thing that makes me most livid?

With 189 days of jail credit, Flores could be released from prison in as little as six months because Indiana law grants prisoners in the Department of Correction two days of jail credit for every day served without a disciplinary action.

He was going to get eight years, but the judge suspended six of those in favor of probation... And, in another case of babying criminals, Indiana state law will see him free before the end of the year.

Moral of the story: If you're a child predator, contract an STD and move to Indiana! Not only will the law pamper you by letting you off lightly for giving children horrific diseases, but if you behave in prison, you'll only have to actually serve one-third of your sentence! Which will probably ALREADY be cut down to one-quarter of its initially-proposed length in favor of probation!

Charged as an adult, 17-year-old Ahmad O. Alexander admitted Monday to doing horrible things to a toddler left in his care.

Alexander pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent and aggravated battery, both Class B felonies, with an agreement capping his prison sentence at 14 years, according to court documents.

His girlfriend pleaded guilty earlier this year to a charge of neglect of a dependent.

.....DOES ANYONE ELSE NOTICE THE DISCONNECT HERE?

Rape a baby and give her an STD, get six months! Neglect and physically abuse a toddler, get 14 years! Yeah! Yeah, that sounds... that sounds... fair...

Wait, what? How does that make sense? The rapist gets a far lighter sentence than... what?

I think my brain is broken. The dissonance has left it FUBAR'd...

Also, notice how sterile-sounding the first article is, when addressing a rapist's actions... But when we get to Ahmad, they break out loaded rhetoric to portray him as some kind of inhuman monster (but, when addressing his girlfriend, they revert back to using the same old sterile writing style used for the rapist.)

Now, don't get me wrong... I think all three of them are absolute, worthless scum. But why use the loaded phrasing for only one of them? Why do the rapist and the willfully neglectful mother get treated with more impartiality than the abuser? Given the Gazette's tendency towards right-leaning, I wouldn't put it past them to have broken out the "evil monster" brush simply because of the abuser's "Muslim"-sounding name, but without talking to the author responsible for the article, I can't make any concrete calls :/

Anyway. I've said my piece (admittedly disjointedly... But I find it hard to think 100% coherently when something triggers one of my psychotic-rage buttons - one of which is child rape. Abuse is horrific in and of itself, but in my eyes, raping a child is even worse and deserves the harshest penalties possible, short of the death sentence. I simply cannot wrap my mind around the concept of coddling a child rapist in this manner.)

4/25/2009

And so it went, up and down the street, in between tents and tables, squeezing past pedestrians to inspect the offerings in one booth after another, we milled around this marketplace in downtown Baghdad for more than an hour. I told reporters afterward that it was just like any open-air market in Indiana in the summertime.

Congressman Mike Pence on cap-and-trade legislation:

"I think, rightly understood, the cap and trade legislation represents an economic declaration of war on the Midwest by liberals in Washington, D.C.," Pence said in a telephone interview.

Real War = Peace. Energy Independence = War.

Any questions?

Yes, actually, I have a question:

Why is this man still being allowed to open his yap without someone rightfully telling him to stuff a sock in his warmongering wordhole? Why is it that the people around here seem to think he's the greatest thing since the wheel? Why is it this man is allowed to continue lying, day in and day out, especially on our televisions, without anybody trying to set him straight?

Mike Pence is, to put it bluntly, stupid. Yes, that's the kindest way I can put it: He's stupid. He says stupid things, he believes stupid things, therefore he qualifies as stupid.

4/17/2009

Aren't these people, the self-styled "patriots" bitching about taxes that won't actually go up for most of them but are doing what Fox Noise tells them to anyway, the same ones who told us to "love it or leave it" these past eight years?

What changed to suddenly make them stalwart defenders of the right to protest? Oh, right - they lost.

4/07/2009

The House recorded a dramatic 100-49 vote - the minimum needed - to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto. Its vote followed a much easier override vote in the Senate, which rebuffed the Republican governor with a vote of 23-5.

Vermont was the first state to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples and joins Connecticut, Massachusetts and Iowa in giving gays the right to marry. Their approval of gay marriage came from the courts.

So in the span of what? A week? We've had both Iowa and now Vermont legalize same-sex marriage. Considering how long we went with no more states added to the small list that allowed for same-sex marriage, it's weird to think of 2 happening so quickly.

4/03/2009

As many as 14 people have been shot dead in a murderous three-minute shooting rampage inside an upstate New York civic association building that caters to immigrants, according to federal and state authorities.

According to Binghamton Police Chief Joe Zikuski, the gunman entered the one-story American Civic Association in downtown Binghamton at 10:31 a.m. today and began his shooting spree.

By 10:33 a.m., the shooting was over and 14 people -- including the gunman -- lay dead, the chief said.

At least four people were listed in critical condition. Earlier, sources said as many as 26 people were wounded.

I'm not even going to make any political hay out of this. I'm just so fucking sick of it that I can't bring myself to do so.

Why is this happening so much lately? How many more times will it have to happen before we do something about it?

"The Alaska Republican Party…believes that current Senator Mark Begich should resign his position to allow for a new, special election, so Alaskans may have the chance to vote for a senator without the improper influence of the corrupt Department of Justice," the Alaska Republican Party's Web site states.

What the fuck? In what reality does this happen? Do they poison the water in Alaska or something? Seriously, I'm trying to figure out "A series of tubes", "Mooselini" and now "SOMEONE HIT THE RESET BUTTON!" Just what the shit.

Iowa becomes the third state in the nation to allow same-sex marriage, after Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Friday's decision upheld a 2007 ruling by a lower court that Iowa's 1998 law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples went against the state's constitution. It becomes effective in 21 days.

"This is a great day for civil rights in Iowa," said attorney Dennis Johnson, a co-counsel with Lambda Legal, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of six same-sex couples seeking to marry in Iowa. "Go get married. Live happily ever after," he said at a news conference where there was loud clapping among plaintiffs.

This came out of left field for me, and I'll be blunt, I hadn't expected it. It was wonderful news to wake up to, that's for certain.

4/02/2009

So I was checking out my SiteMeter, because I'm just so concerned over how many visitors I get </sarcasm>, and I notice something odd about a recent visitor. I figure it's nothing, and I'm being ridiculous, until I see their details: Look closely at that IP block. That resolves to the National Republican Congressional Committee. Seems that someone's keeping tabs on me.

I can't imagine why. I'm not important. I don't get many visitors. I'm a minnow in a pond full of lunkers. Why would anyone care enough to keep track of me? Wouldn't that time and effort be better served on things and people that matter? Wouldn't keeping track of the high-profile people be more productive?

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been indicted for corruption while in office, including trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat that was held by President Barack Obama, prosecutors said on Thursday.

So what's going to be his story on this one? Tax-loving commies? The President out to get him? Or is he just going to sit there and do nothing during trial then claim he was denied his rights, again?

I'm going to be watching this closely, and I'm going to laugh the day Blago gets sent off to federal prison to bunk with Bubba, Nail, and Snake. Something's in, Blago, and it ain't the fix!

Yeah, seems that the whole Conficker thing didn't pay off like laymen thought it would. Since it didn't turn out like some dumb action movie, with the whole world being locked down and things blowing up, it obviously means it was some big joke and everyone was just blowing it out of proportion like Y2K, right?

I doubt that. Five will get you ten that it'll suddenly open up the floodgates and we'll all be screwed if we're not paying attention.